Disney's Beach Club Resort - Villas

If Epcot is your favorite park, I’d highly recommend Disney’s Beach Club Resort and Disney Beach Club Villas. The main selling point for us is the resort is only steps away from the entrance to Epcot. The walk into the lobby offers an enchanting ocean scent. The villas are modern, decorated in a nautical/beach theme, and were very clean. The beds are relatively firm; however, the pillows were soft. We benefited from having a washer/dryer in our unit, along with a full kitchen - especially since it rained almost every day of our vacation which was then topped off with Hurricane Milton in the middle of our stay. It was nice of the resort to offer activities for the kids, as well as free arcade play for the day the parks were closed. Some of the less desirable aspects of this resort tended to revolve around the mixed and confusing messages provided by cast members about expectations for guests to follow as a result of the approaching hurricane. For example, guests were told to place mobile orders for the next day’s breakfast and lunch the day prior to the hurricane making landfall. The problem with this plan was 1.) the villas aren’t connected to the resort so walking outside to physically go to the restaurant to get a mobile order was not going to be an option during a hurricane event 2.) how was one supposed to pick up a mobile order for the next day if the villas building was going to be on lockdown? We were finally told by a cast member that we should have placed our order for food boxes to be picked up the same day (for the next day). Okay, clearly not the initial instructions given. By the time we received clarification, it was 8:25 PM and the building was going to be locked at 8:30 PM. My husband asked the cast member what we were supposed to do because the instructions were not clearly or concisely stated, and we had no food in our room outside of a few snacks and beverages. We were met with no response other than, “Well this building is going to be locked.” Um, yeah, we established that fact already. Our question was about dining for the next day. Thankfully, the hurricane did not cause substantial damage to the resorts and parks as everyone had anticipated. Guests were allowed out of their rooms the next morning even though the parks were closed. Where things got tricky fast is guests of The Beach and Yacht Club Resort, Boardwalk, and the Swan/Dolphin were now descending on very limited dining offerings, with little to no guarantee of available seating at the few options offered. One could not rely on basically anything posted on the app. None of the restaurants were further taking ANY online reservations, so you could walk around aimlessly for hours looking for somewhere to sit down and eat a meal with no success. Cast members were themselves confused as to their own offerings and hours of operation (which honestly seemed to be arbitrary and/or based on the whim of the staff/mgt.). For lunch, we walked over to the boardwalk area in the hope we could get table service at Trattoria al Forno. We were told breakfast was still being served at 12:30 PM (which seems weird for an Italian restaurant), the restaurant would close at 1:00 PM, and then would reopen for dinner at 5:00 PM. Online information characterized breakfast ending at 11:30 AM (as most restaurants tend to follow). There was no mention at all of lunch being cancelled at this restaurant altogether for the day. Strike one on this date. For dinner, we planned for table service at the Cape May buffet in The Beach Club. We arrived at the restaurant around 7:15 PM and were told no more guests would be added to the wait list until 7:45 PM. Fine. We waited in the lobby with hoards of screaming kids and their inattentive parents, and again, approached the hostess to be added to the waiting list as promised. At that point, we were informed no guests would be added to the list until 8:15 PM. Strike two. We left out of frustration, and to see if we could be seated at Ale and Compass at The Yacht Club. On our walk to The Yacht Club, we did take note of multiple, open tables at Cape May. In fact, open table seemed to outnumber the amount of diners. At Ale and Compass, we were told the wait was 45 minutes, meaning we would have been waiting to sit down at any restaurant on the premises for nearly two hours. We finally gave up, and as we were walking back to the villas, we decided to dine at Beaches and Cream. There we finally had success. We waited quite a while for what amounts to fast food offerings in a table service format, but the meal was filling and tasty. Then, we asked if we could use our dining plan snacks on milkshakes or ice cream. Our server said this was possible, but only at the outside window which was supposed to be open until 11:00 PM. So far so good. We walk outside to the window and were promptly told they were not taking any further orders (at around 9:30 PM). Strike three. My husband had finally had it with being lied to and led astray several times during the previous 24 hr. period, so he let that cast member have it (including informing them their own server instructed us to order from the outside window). Even with these setbacks due to the hurricane, we would stay at The Beach Club again. It is a beautiful facility with so many amenities. We only hope we never have to deal with a major hurricane again (for more reasons than one) while staying at this resort, if, for nothing else, avoiding all the confusion from the right hand not knowing what the left is doing. Read less

My family stayed at the Beach Club Villas in 2019 and 2020 and we really took a liking to this resort. The villas were clean and spacious and came with fully equipped kitchens which was very important to us. We did not return until June 2024 due to the pandemic because we were worried that the Disney experience had drastically changed for the worse. After 4 years of not visiting Disney we were pleasantly surprised that it was basically the same Disney that we had experienced before the pandemic in 2020. The Beach Club Villas were just as we remembered, but with a few nice upgrades to the room which included a nice large Murphy bed instead of a pull out couch. The staff were great and even though they were incredibly busy, they were there when we needed them. The Villas are quiet and it seems to be secluded until you walk out your back door and realize that you are on Epcot’s doorstep with Disney’s Boardwalk only a stones throw away. The area is well taken care of and an awesome spot if you are looking to stay on Disney Property. We ate at the Cape May breakfast buffet a few mornings and were not disappointed. The service was amazing on every level and the food was great. Hopefully we will be coming back to this location for years to come. Overall a great experience at Disney. Read less

This hotel isa Disney Deluxe resort, which is their highest level, however it was just okay. I traveled with my husband and two young children (4 and 1.5) First the good: -the pool area is great. This is an awesome pool for kids, particularly the sandy beach pool -ice cream shop is great -the look and vibe of the property is really nice, like a nice beach house -front desk staff were awesome -very close to Epcot (5-10 minute walk) which was great. The not so great -the TVs are so out of date. You can't stream from your ipad/phone. They are not smart TVs, so no Netflix or Disney+, and there are very few channels offered. It seemed like a missed opportunity for the kids to watch disney movies - the Disney+ should be available on all these TVs (for free or at the very least allow you to sign in to your own account). This is supposed to be a Deluxe hotel -housekeeping was spotty -the villas bathrooms are oddly configured. The bathtub and sink area were open to the bedroom and then through a door was the shower and another sink and through another door was a toilet. It's pretty obvious that the rooms were just mishmashed together to create a villa. This made it hard at night wtih little kids. -was disappointed that the villas didnt have at least a half bath in addition to a full bath, given the price -there is no front closet or shoe rack or hooks or anything. This means your shoes are strewn all over the place. -the food was terrible quality. -there is no playground or play area for children besides the pool. This makes it difficult in early morning or early evening with young children if you don want them to get all wet from the pool. Kids need something to do. In all, my concerns stem from the fact that this hotel bills itself as Disney Deluxe but I don't believe the details were there to make it Deluxe, particularly if you traveled with young kids. I was also disappointed by the Disney bus services, they are not frequent, only every 25 minutes, and they require you to fold up your stroller. This is very tough with two young children. They should invest in more buses, at least for the Deluxe hotels, so that they are every 15 minutes or have alternate ways to get from these hotels to the parks. The minnie van service through Lyft is not a great alternative because it takes so long for it to arrive as there are not taht many of them. The few times we checked it was always over 45 minutes wait, which is even longer than the bus. Essentially, I am not sure that if I were to return to the parks, that I would bother choosing a Disney hotel. You pay a premium but you are not really getting the value. Read less

Stayed at beach club villas in a one bedroom. Make sure you call ahead with whatever requests you have (I called to request refurbished room and was able to get one). Was a bit worried as I booked the one bedroom for four adults and a child, but with the new renovations it was fine. Pulldown bed (Murphy bed?) is definitely an upgrade from the pull out bed from the couch in the living room that they had previously. Slightly difficult to get down from the wall if you haven’t used one before (we called and they sent someone up pretty quickly to help out). The kitchen is solid, fridge is as big as my home fridge. Dishes were clean. Showers and bathrooms good (soap dispensers have your classic Disney soaps). Shower pressure great. Master bed very very comfortable. Televisions in both master bed and family room large and great if you have little ones (tons of disney channels. Our kid loved the disney music video channel). Few minor gripes with the room (one of the phones didn’t work and the sink seemed to drain slow). But nothing major The resort itself is fairly immaculate in terms of cleanliness. Lots of options for dining in the hotel and the adjacent yacht club (but need ti make reservations ahead of time on the disney app for most). Beaches and cream is great (get the kitchen sink!) , and if you got kiddos and are worried about waiting for an hour in the parks to meet the characters, done be. Cape may cafe has a great character breakfast (again make sure you book ahead of time on app). The lobby is beautiful, the theming modeled after old time New England coast resorts. Several nice areas just off the lobby to sit and relax and enjoy a morning coffee and take in the ambience. The marketplace has almost everything you would need from snacks to ice cream to over the counter meds, gift items, etc. and the marketplace quick meals seem decent also. Pool is probably the best on Disney property. Lazy river and multiple deeper pool options along with a water slide make it fun for the older kids but they also have an expansive shallow pool with adjacent sandbars for the younger ones to enjoy. Lots of lifeguards keeping an eye constantly. There’s also an arcade and fitness center next to the pool. The beach is beautiful with multiple swings and a terrific view of the other side of the boardwalk. The pirate ship is where the water slide starts off and is a cool touch. They have nightly s’mores and movies on the beach weather permitting. All the above is great but what sets beach club apart is its proximity to the parks. Epcot is literally a ten minute walk away. The sky liner is even closer. And the boardwalk is an excellent area to stroll around and grab a bite to eat. Even the bus system is fairly smooth. Getting to the bus stop and then being dropped off at magic kingdom took no more than 20-25 mins. Same with animal kingdom. Overall probably 4.5/5 stars. Wife fell in love with the place and said we’re not staying anywhere else on future Disney trips. Pricey? Yes. But what isn’t these days when you’re talking Disney. Post refurbishment this place is pretty awesome. Thoroughly enjoyed our beach club stay October 2023 Read less

We stayed in a 2 bedroom villa and it was wonderful. Very quiet and we could see the fireworks through the trees from our balcony. The pool is awesome with the slide and sand bank pool, we spent some afternoons happily there. Beds are comfortable, artwork on Murphy bed is particularly cute, kitchen was useful as we got Instacart and hotel delivered it to room. Bathroom in main bedroom had slightly confusing separation into 3 rooms but it was fine. Rooms were in excellent condition. Cape May Cafe and Beaches and Cream were fun. Location perfect for Epcot and Hollywood Studios and the buses got us everywhere else. Highly recommend Beach Club Villas. Read less